Engine.



JPH. PIERCE.

ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED SBPT.18.1911.

1,34,782. Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

' I 32) \g wws 1x 1111121 "4' 15' View;

In the accompanying which will be JAMES H. PIERCE, OF BAY CITY,

FTQ.

MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T JAMES H BUDD, 0F WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

I Patented'Aug. 6, 1912. Serial No. 643,811.

ENGINE.

1,034,732, Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 18, 1911.

' To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, James 'H. France, a citizen of the United States, residin at Bay City,.in the county of Bay and tate of Michigan, have. invented a new and Improved Engine, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to internal-combustion engines adapted to use liquid-hydrocarbons for fuel, and its object is to provide an engine whose operation may be changed instantly from two-cycle to four-cycle, and f whieh shall be constructed so that the flow 4519f the fuel can be regulated.

drawing, Figure 1 is a section of the engine on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2." Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are details of construction.

parts throughout the several views.

two cycle internal combustion engines, the burned gases are partially expelled from the cylinder by the air which has been com- 5 pressed in the crank case.- The remaining gases mix with the incoming airand thus weaken the force of he ex losion. .If a second scavenging occurs bef re the explosion, the amount of burned gases mixed with the next charge of air will be negligible. In such case, however, it is necessary that the fuel be introduced into the explosion chamher at each alternative revolution onl It is also desirable that the amount of hquid introduced intothe explosion chamber be under absolute control."

he engine shown is generally of well known design, andno invention is claimed to reside-fin the crank-case 1, ,cylinder 2, water-jacket 3, piston 4;, wrist-pin 5, connecting rod 6, crank-shaft 7 or air-inlet valve 8 having a control spring 9. Any other desired designs or constructions may be used in place of those named and shown in the 4 drawings.

On the crank-shaft is secured a pinion 11, which meshes with the gear 12 secured to the pinion 13, both revoluble on a pin 14. The pinion 13 meshes with the gear 15 secured to the cam-shaft 16, revolubly mounted in the crank-case 1. Any other mechanism may be employed to drive this cam shaft so long as it is caused to revolve at half the speed of the crank-shaft. This shaft 16 is hollow and in it is slidable 'the rod 17 hav- Similar reference characters refer to like ing a pin 18 projecting through the slot 19 'n this cam shaft. At the outer end of the god 17 is a- 'rooveinto which extend the pins 7 carried by the lever 20, having its lower end connectingto the crank-case by means of the link 21. A notched quadrant- 26 guides the lever 20, and its notches receive the lip 22 which holds the lever in the desired position. A cam sleeve 23 is slidable on the shaft 16 and is connected to the rod 65,

17 by the pin 18. The cam 24 on one side of the sleeve increases slowly from nothing to maximum, while the cam 25 on the other sideis constant.

Connecting into the cylinder 2 itself, or to the passage 38, but preferably into the cylinder at a. point above the lowest line reached by the upper surface of the iston, is a'fuel pipe28 which connects to t e extension 29 of the fuel chamber 30. A rod '75. 31 extends up from the cam-shaft and may be provided with a small antifriction roller 32 at its-lower end. A collar 33 on the rod receives adownward thrust of the spring 34, the upper end of which presses against the lower end of the extension 29. A valve 36 at the upper en'dof this rod 31 normally closes the passage'from the fuel chamber 30 to the extension 29. A 'ipe 37 connects to a fuel-supply tank, whic is under constant pressure. A passage 38 connects the crankcase to the cylinder, an intake port 39 being opened by the piston. The usual exhaust port 40 will be opposite the intake port. The lipgine is supposed to turn to the left in i 1. it the end of the explosion stroke, the compressed air in the crank-case will rush up the passage 38 and through the port 39 into the cylinder, expelling the larger portion of the burned gases. The momentum of the engine will now carry up the piston and compress the air but no explosion will occur as there is no fuel. After the down-stroke, the piston again compresses a charge of air in the crank case.'- At the end of the down stroke the piston opens the port 39 and the compressed air in the crank case displaces and replaces the air in the cylinder, which now' has but ,1 a small fraction of burned gases mixed with it. This point is shown in Fig. 1. Imme-- diately after the piston has closed the ports 39. and 40, the cam 24 raises the rod31 and valve 36, permitting a small amoanfibf fuel 11 0 1 to be forced through the tube 28. This fuel will carburet the air and at the .end of this compression stroke will explode. It will be clearly understood that when the 5 pipe 28 enters the cylinder above the port 39,

back-firing in the crank-case is absolutely impossible, as no fuel enters the crank-case,

and that when this pipe 28 discharges into the passage 38, such back-firing is also impossible because the fuel is discharged into this passage only when the port 39 is open, so that the fuel will be carried up into the cylinder by the rush of air from the crank-case.

The amount of fuel which passes the valve 36 will depend upon the distance the valve is raised, For this reason the cam 24 is formed tapering and'slidable on the cam shaft. When the cam is to the right in Fig. 2, the valve 36 will be opened but a very short distance and but little fuel Will enter the cylinder, but when the lever 20 is in central position, the valve The engine described is therefore, a valveless four-cycle engine, having all the ad vantages of engines of that type, and yet possessing the simplicity of construction of the two-cycle engine. Because of the admission of the compressed air from the comand some power 1s required for this'purpose, but the air and gases will take up heat from the cylinder walls, and during what is usually the charging stroke of the four-cycle engine, will expand and more than return to the piston the power used to compress the air and gases At the end of this stroke, a fresh charge of pure air is admitted, expelling the air with the sinall amount of commingled burned gases, so that when the real compression stroke occurs, no burned gases are left in the cylinder.

It may sometimes be desirable to obtain maximum-power from this engine, irrespective of slightly greater cost of fuel. This may be accomplished by forming the second cam 25 opposite the other cam 24. When the cam sleeve is moved fully over to the left, as shown in Fig. 2, an injection of fuel will occur at each upward stroke of the piston and anexplosion at each revolution of the engine. In other words, by merely sliding the rod 17 and the cam-sleeve, the engine can be instantly changed from twocycle to four-cycle or back and the fuel consumption can be absolutely controlled. This construction therefore presents an 65 engine having unusually great range in 1 sleeve,

- will be 0 ened full at each revolution of the power. It is to be. understood, however, that this second cam 25 may be omitted,- when the engine will be'a four-cycle motor at all times, and such an engine is to be considered as embraced in the subject matter of the claims as well as one provided with both cams 24: and 25. 1

Having now explained my construction,

what I clalm as my invention and desire to vsecure by Letters Patent is 1. In an explosion engine, in combination with a cylinder, frame and main shaft, 'a cam-shaft, gears connecting the two shafts, a fuel receptacle, a valve to control the flow.

of fuel from the same,a rod connecting to the.

valve and extending to the cam-shaft, a cylindrical sleeve on the cam shaft having two cams formed thereon to actuate the rod and valve when properly positioned, one of the cams tapering down to the cylindricaland the other cam extending a, short distance along the opposite end of the sleeve, and means to convey the fuel from the receptacle into the cylinder.

2. In an explosion engine, a fuel receptacle adjacent the cylinder, a tube connectin into the cylinder above the intake port and to the fuel receptacle to convey the fuel, a

valve to control the flow of fuel, a camshaft, a sleeve slidable thereon and revoluble therewith, means for driving the cam-shaft at one half the speed of the engine, cams formed on opposite sides of'the sleeve, one

of greater length than the other, connecting means between the sleeve and valve whereby the valve may be actuated by one or both cams at will, and means to position the sleeve on the cam shaft.

' 3. In an explosion engine, the combina- I tion of a cylinder and'closedcrankcase connect-ing by a passage, a piston slidable in the cylinder and sage at the inner end of its stroke to admit air from the crank-case, said cylinder having an exhaust passage in its wall adapted to be opened by the piston of its stroke, a crank-shaft and connecting rod in the crank-case, a cam-shaft in the crank-ease and means to drive the same from the crank-shaft at half its speed,a fuel receptacle, a pipe connecting to the receptacle and into the cylinder so,that' it may be closed by the piston immediately after the inlet and exhaust ports, a valve to controlthe flow of fuel from the. receptacle, an

means actuated by the cam-shaft to open said valve at alternate strokes of the piston.

4. In an explosion engine, the combination ofa compression chamber, a cylinder connected thereto by an air-passage an having an exhaust port, a piston adapted to open said passage and port at the inner end of its stroke, a crank-shaft, a cam-shaft, means connecting the shafts to drive the cam-shaft at half the speed of the other, a

at the inner end adapted to open said pasfuel receptacle connecting to said cylinder, a valve to control the flow of fuel therefrom, and means operated by the cam-shaft to glpeln said valve to permit theflow of the e 5. In an explosion engine, the combination of a compression chamber, a cylinder connected thereto by an air passage and having an exhaust port, a piston adapted to open said passage and port at the inner end of its stroke, a fuel receptacle connected to said cylinder, a valve to control the flow of fuel therefrom, and means operated by the engine at each alternate stroke of the piston to cause the valve to permit the fuel to flow to the cylinder.

6. In an explosion engine, the combination of a crank-case, a cylinder connected thereto by an air-passage and having .anexhaust port, a piston adapted to open said passage and port at the inner end of its stroke, a crank-shaft, a cam-shaft mounted in said crankcase, means connecting the shafts to drive the cam-shaft at half the-- speed of the other, a fuel receptacle adja- "cent the engine and having a downward ex- 1 tension, a valve controlling the flow of fuel from thereceptacle, a rod connecting to the valve and extendlng down into the crankcase, and a cam on the cam-shaft adapted to actuate the rod and valve.

7. In an explosion engine, the combination of a compression chamber, a cylinder connected thereto by an airpassage and revoluble therewith to operate the rod and valve, means to vary the efi'ective operation of the cam to cause greater or less movement of the valve, and a tube to convey the fuel from the receptacle into the engine.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES PIERCE.

Witnesses:

' F. B. PHILLIPS,

' -PERCIVAL G. CRUDEN. 

